Samsung: Semiconductors over Smartphones - [Business Breakdowns, EP.147]

This is Matt Reustle. Today, we are breaking down the technology conglomerate Samsung. Only Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon ranked higher than Samsung in Interbrand's latest brand value rankings, with Samsung being the fifth most valuable brand in the world. It's everywhere around us: our phones, our TVs, our refrigerators, our washing machines. But, it's not those finished products that drive the majority of Samsung's profits. To break down Samsung, I'm joined by David Samra, Managing Director and Founding Partner of the Artisan Partners International Value Team. We go inside this vertically integrated technology giant and talk about the history of the business, the manufacturing DNA and what it means to create hardware components, and how those hardware components unlock significant opportunities in the smartphone market for Samsung. Please enjoy this breakdown on Samsung. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by 10 East. 10 East is a platform where qualified investors can co-invest on a deal-by-deal basis across private equity, private credit, real estate ventures, and other one-off opportunities typically unavailable through traditional channels. It's no surprise that founders, executives, and portfolio managers from leading investment firms are using 10 East to diversify their personal portfolios. Their level of sourcing and diligence is institutional grade. To learn more, check out 10east.com. CSIMA, Columbia Student Investment Management Association, is hosting its 27th annual conference in New York on Friday, February 9th. Keynote speakers include John Griffin from Blue Ridge, Ian McKinnon from Sandia, Jan Hummel from Paradigm, and Sally Krawcheck from Ellevest. Get your tickets at csima.info/conference. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (04:28) First Question - How he defines Samsung compared to other brands (09:13) Samsung's history and what led them to their capabilities today (13:59) Unique growth and shared gains in the semiconductor industry   (18:08) Where Samsung compares to other chips in the semiconductor space  (22:08) Risks moving into other chip production areas  (25:53) The disparity in margin profile between divisions  (31:29) Potential for local competitors to bring chips into the market  (32:48) How he thinks about growing the barriers to entry for the separate businesses    (35:15) Leaving the handset business  (36:31) How he thinks about the business on a consolidated basis  (41:19) Risks associated with the business (44:09) The regulatory climate in South Korea  (48:33) Things he learned from studying Samsung